I can not say enough good things about this movie masterpiece. Like the film "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc", "The Red Violin" contains the rare mixture of drama, music, mystery/suspense, a great cast all the way around, good attention to detail, a good ending, and a cohesive tale that tells a story over a lengthy period of time. <br /><br />The different time epochs and cultures displayed in the movie were all done with quality, and I enjoyed the different languages (English, Italian, French, German, Chinese) and subtitles during the course of this film (I speak some of all of these tongues except Chinese).<br /><br />An appreciation of violin music also developed in me as the movie continued, as well as that of violin players and the history of the instrument. I even am considering giving the instrument a go at it. <br /><br />As some of the viewers have commented, I also am appalled that "The Red Violin" did not receive an Oscar nomination for best picture/best producer/best director. This film is truly a masterpiece that should linger in the memories of any appreciative person lucky enough to discover this under-publicized film. What a tremendous oversight by whoever claims to recognize works of art at the Academy.<br /><br />9 out of 10.